Paul Heath
Can we now go on to your sporting interests? What sports did you take part in? Any special memories, or games or characters?
The only sport that I’ve taken part in in the village is cricket.And I started playing for Fernhurst Second Team when I was 12 or 13, about 13. I don’t know how it came about, but I started playing. And I went on a regular basis and I played with people such as your, no I didn’t play with your Dad, I played with, Tom, Tom umpired, many a game that was. There was Don Pope, there was Alphie Ralph, Curly Lambert, Derek Quinnell, this is going over a few years, not just when I started. Phil and Peter May, who lived at Marley Hanger. I’m trying to think who else there was that played. I can see them but I cannot think of their names at the moment…. . I played until I was about 16/17, for Fernhurst. And then I was poached, or went and played for Verdley, which was ICI’s cricket team. For about 2 years I played Saturdays any game they had down there, and I would play any Sundays they didn’t have a game, I would play for Fernhurst. And I did that for two or three years. I always remember that we actually went a whole season and a half on the Sundays without winning a single game. The Captain at that time was Stan Cobbold, his brother would play sometimes and his son would play. I think there’s only one of his family now that still has anything to do with cricket and that’s Carl, who has played for Haslemere in the last few years.
But I’m now back playing for Fernhurst, joined the Iadsum….it’s a local… league and I think they started, they went right from the bottom the fourth or fifth division, right through to the first, the first division, managed to stay there till this year and unfortunately this year they were relegated to the second division. The seconds have done similar, got up to the third division about two years ago. Unfortunately through lack of players they are going to be disbanded before next year. My time at Verdley…I do remember as a child there being a cup which was called the Ashurst Cup, which was something that was played every year at ICI Verdley’s Open Day. The game would be between the village and Plant Protection/ICI. Why it stopped, I don’t know. I think the Open Days stopped. From what I can remember, it was a good day, it was a nice day down there, you could have a wander round the site at ICI and everything, and it was a very pleasant day, but it stopped eventually. I played at Verdley, I only played friendlies, for 26 years in actual fact. Sounds horrible, a long time, but there we go! But on their last year, their last dinner and prize giving, I found out that it was about 1950, I think it was, that the ground was laid. It was just a crop, just an ordinary field and the ground staff at ICI, or Plant Protection as it was then, set to and they got Tom Quinnell, had loads of photos.which he lent the club to bring along to show. It was quite interesting. How they laid it, what’s underneath it, it’s a big lump of clay under the square. But we played many years down there, I think my uncle played down there, Uncle Vernon played there. They played very good friendly games. Twice, we played in the Ebernoe Horn Fair. We were invited to play in the Ebernoe Horn Fair, which at the time was quite a thing to be done. We lost both games unfortunately. But not badly. I think we didn’t let ourselves down. We did quite well. But I do remember some of the old boys. I was just trying to think of some the names from Verdley. Probably there aren’t any well known village names apart from Gordon Wright who was down there for many years. Alf Brads who was down there for many years, people may know him. I played cricket down there with his son Kirk for many a year, until he moved away.
You mentioned Tom Quinnell. Did he play?
Yes, Tom, Tom Quinnell played there. He was one of the ground staff who put the square in. Tom was actually Captain for quite a few years, but way before my time. He’s actually, David Quinnell I mentioned with the scouts, it’s his Dad, is Tom. But I never played with Tom. I think he ended up at Woolbeding. With my Uncle Les, played at Woolbeding. It was just a square in the middle of a field. As the village goes, I’m back playing for the village for the moment. Hence the reason I know they’re going down the pan, as far as their first division status is concerned. We do our best.
|
